Don Johnson Gets $19 Million to End 'Nash Bridges' Dispute

Instead of another appeal, the parties resolve a high-profile dispute over money owed from the 1996-2001 CBS cop drama.

Don Johnson's fight over money from Nash Bridges is officially over.

Both sides could have continued the battle to a higher appeals court, but recent court papers submitted at the Los Angeles Superior Court reveal that at the end of January, Rysher wired nearly $19 million to Johnson's production company.

Johnson has now signed an acknowledgment of satisfaction of the judgment.

Johnson's lawsuit against Rysher became a big deal in the summer of 2010 when it went to a jury trial.

The actor claimed that his 1995 deal with Rysher entitled him to half-ownership of Nash Bridges if it lasted 66 episodes. The show lasted 122 episodes.

Johnson sued for 50 percent of the show's money. At trial, his attorneys pointed to the profits the 1996-2001 drama made from re-reruns.

A jury awarded Johnson $23.2 million, and then, the judge awarded interest, ballooning the total award to $50 million.

In October, a California appellate court said that the trial judge was right to throw the ambiguities of Johnson's contract to a trial, but also trimmed the $50 million down to $15 million because of a finding that both the judge and jury had improperly determined prejudgment interest.

Both sides could have fought at the California Supreme Court over issues including statute of limitations, whether the judge should have interpreted the contract himself and whether there was really any misconduct or error to abrogate the huge interest payments.

Instead, the dispute appears to have been solved. Rysher will now be getting some money back since it deposited nearly $44 million in January, 2011 with the Los Angeles County Treasurer to stay enforcement of the trial award pending appeal.

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